Super Bug

Question: I am so afraid of the so-called Super Bugs that are resistant to antibiotics. How can I keep from getting sick?

Mimi: Last year we were afraid of the Swine Flu. Before that it was the Bird Flu. Dirty eggs and Mad Cow turned us into vegetarians until our lettuce and onions were contaminated. Does anybody remember Legionnaires Disease? Now we are told that although the polio vaccination nearly eradicated infantile paralysis, we are getting sick 50 years latter from something in the shot. Have you stopped taking cruises because some people on cruise ships got sick?

Let’s stop the hysteria. I am not minimizing the dangers, but I will not live my life wrapped in a sterile bubble-wrap cocoon.

First, wash your hands correctly and often. Take all the normal precautions like using the Dracula cough method (coughing into your elbow); hugging instead of shaking hands when you or others have the sniffles (I think that the greeters at church think I am overly friendly. I hug instead of shaking hands.

Second, get healthy. Strengthen your immune system. Stay away from sugar. The white blood cells are designed to eat up bad germs. But white cells prefer to eat sugar. (I do too). So if you feed them sugar, they won’t eat up the bad guys.

Eat lots of fresh fruit, veggies, beans, nuts, and whole grain products. This feeds your body the nutrients that it needs. Plus it supplies lots of fiber or roughage to roto-root out your system. You want a clean system so the waste products move out quickly and don’t stay in the large intestine to be re-absorbed. The large intestine is the sewer system of the body. Get rid of unwanted waste.

Drink lots of water to stay hydrated and to keep all systems of elimination perking along.

Create happy flora and fauna in your gut. (I know that it’s the bacterial flora. But aren’t bacteria animals and should be considered fauna?) Eat natural yogurt with live bacteria or take acidophilus tablets. If you ever take antibiotics, get some acidophilus into your system afterwards. Bio means life. Anti-Bio means Against Life. Antibiotics kill off life inside your body. They are designed to kill off bad guys, but they also kill off good guys. So, to help the good guys re-grow, you need to feed them Pro-Biotics, meaning Pro-Life. If you have a bout of diarrhea where everything is evacuated, be sure to take some pro-biotics after to rebuild the good guys. Also, to prevent dehydration, drink lots of fluids. I believe in “Jewish Penicillin”—Chicken Soup.

Get enough sleep. Your body rebuilds itself and heals during sleep. If you short yourself on sleep, when will your body rebuild?

Take essential fatty acid supplements to protect cells from free radical damage and to repair cells.

Hang out with happy, healthy people. Avoid sickly downer folks. They drain your energy and joy.

Job said, “That which I feared has come upon me.” And look what happened to HIM with negative thinking. So live happy and healthy so you can stop worrying.

Mimi Barre is the owner of International Day Spa, 325 Cajon St., Redlands.
Send your skin care questions to her at MimiB@INTLdayspa.com. She and her estheticians are available for personal consultations. (909) 793-9080. Past columns of Ask Mimi are on the web at www.INTERNATIONALdayspa.com.